Tag: My love for food

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” – this is true but it applies to more than just apples. All fruits are beneficial and packed with nutrients. I am sure you all must be aware of the fact that fruit is such a fantastic food. It’s a delicious form of energy. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, fibre, phytonutrients, fructose (a simple sugar) and fresh water. It is packed with enzymes to aid digestion and help clean out the body, flush out impurities. Plus it can help get rid of waste from your digestive system, blood stream, internal organs, and even your skin. And of course, it tastes great! I always try and have a fully raw breakfast that sets me up with energy I need to keep me going throughout my day, fruit is the first meal of my day – no preparation requires. I love it sooo much that I wish I could eat fruit for every meal. 😉

The best time to eat a bounty of fruit is either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (which I prefer). What happens is when you go to sleep at night, your metabolism and digestive system slow down. A good way to wake your body and kick start your digestive system is to begin your day with some fresh fruit. It’s easy to digest, helps with bowel regularity and increase the body’s metabolic rate. So, if you are not already eating fruit for breakfast then make this habit of eating fruit first thing in the morning. Didn’t like the idea? It’s okay, you can also have fruit as a mid-morning snack, in between breakfast and lunch. 🙂

Another important thing about fruit is that it should be eaten alone or with other fruit on an empty stomach. This is because when fruit is eaten, the digestive process works very quickly and our body uses different enzymes to digest the fruit. The simple sugars contained in fruit need time to be completely absorbed by your body. When fruits are eaten alone, your stomach can more easily process all of the nutrients, fibre and the simple sugars contained in the fruit. This is the optimal ‘proper way’ to benefit from the fruit you eat. If you eat fruit close to a meal, especially right after a larger meal and combine with other foods, it’s held in the stomach too long along with other foods and will rot and ferment in the gut. If you experience indigestion, heartburn, burping and and other digestive discomforts and you blame on the meal – it could be the combination of the food, the fermentation with fruit that causes your upset stomach. If left uncontrolled it could lead to other health problems that stem from the digestive tract.

I will recommend that you eat at least four pieces of fresh fruit every day. Four pieces is just a guideline, if you want more, go for it. And by this I don’t mean, four grapes or four cherries – I mean an apple, a banana and a kiwi or peach, or a large section of watermelon/rockmelon, a bunch of grapes or cherries etc.

Grapes have become my most favourite fruit since the day I got to know that our beloved Prophet (PBUH) was very much fond of grapes and Allah (God), the Bestower mentions grapes eight times in the Qur’an (the Holy book of God) as one of the innumerable favors He bestowed upon His creation. Grapes are fruits found both on the earth and in Paradise according to The Noble Book – Quran and Prophetic traditions. In Medicine of the Prophet, Ibn Al-Qayyim (a commentator on the Quran and the theologian, his scholarship was focused on the Islamic sciences of Hadith, Fiqh, and Sufism) states that it is better and more nutritious to eat grapes two or three days old, (when the skin becomes soft), than those harvested on the same day. When eaten the same day of harvesting they produce flatulence and gas in the stomach and intestines. Otherwise, the nutritional benefits of table grapes are similar to those of figs and raisins. It purifies the blood, provides vigor and health, strengthens the kidney and clears the bowels. Grapes are categorized as one of the ‘Three Royal Fruits: namely grapes, figs and dates’.

Enough about fruits today, start eating and enjoying your daily portion of fruits. I will be back soon with another topic. Till than take care and eat healthy! 🙂 Xxxx

How have I gotten away with not posting a food pic (under my food diary page) in so long? I am a Nutritionist after all 😉 hehe. Well some nights it’s all about the comfort food and nothing beats a good plate of rice when you want comfort food, so this is what happened for dinner last night! I wanted to try a quick and different recipe this time, searched online and found this healthy nutritious recipe of “Healthy Chicken & Pineapple Fried Rice”. Yummmo! It was way too easy, quick and extremely delish. I loved it. If you guys wanna play around with this delicious recipe then here is a Recipe Link for you. Try it and let me know if you liked it too! I modified this recipe a bit, instead of red chilli powder I used black pepper powder and added few more vegetables of my choice like green beans (for extra protein). I marinated chicken first then stir fried it with olive oil. And yes I had broccoli for my dinner side. You can have veggies of your choice and can have it with gravy if you want. For everyone wondering, I used white rice! OMG! 😉

You must be drooling over this amazing dish of chicken & pineapple fried rice 😉 but hold on, let’s solve this dilemma first … White rice or Brown rice? Which one is good? Can we eat rice and still loose weight?

I will say ‘Both’ and yes we can eat rice and still loose weight … now continue reading if you want to know why? 😉

Do you know that eating a daily portion of rice not only makes dieting easier, but is linked to improved all-round health. New research shows that consumers can improve their diets simply by enjoying white or brown rice as part of their daily meals. Eating rice is also associated with eating more servings of fruits, vegetables, meat and beans.

In a study published Journal Food and Nutrition Sciences, study leader Dr Theresa Nicklas, of Baylor College of Medicine, looked at rice intake and diets among more than 14,000 US adults. She said our results show that adults who eat rice had diets more consistent with what is recommended in dietary guidelines, and they showed higher amounts of potassium, magnesium, iron, folate and fibre while eating less saturated fat and added sugars.

Rice is naturally sodium free and has only a small amount of fat, of which none is saturated. In addition, a human clinical trial found that having White or Brown rice at a meal increased feelings of fullness more than a calorically equivalent glucose solution control.

Considering the cross-sectional and clinical findings, both enriched white rice and whole grain brown rice should be recommended as part of a healthy diet, says researchers. They added that rice provides about 100 calories per half-cup cooked serving and is naturally free of gluten. Both enriched white rice and whole grain brown rice are considered nutrient rich quality complex carbohydrates and can be a part of a sustainable, plant based diet that promotes optimal health. Brown rice is a 100 percent whole grain food and white rice is enriched with more than 15 vitamins and minerals including folate and other Vitamins, iron and zinc. Brown rice is slightly higher in dietary fibre, magnesium and phosphorus, but lower in Vitamins and iron than enriched, fortified white rice.

As researchers said both white and brown rice produced health benefits so we cant’t say eating white rice is a bad thing? The bad thing is when we mindlessly decide if one thing is good for us and that if we do it a lot, it becomes only worse. We do that with rice so often now. Here will come the art of knowing portion control and incorporating this into our daily meals. One can have both type of rice, just be careful with portion sizes. For instance, if you eat rice with pulses (in our countries like Pakistan/India we call it Daal Chaawal) or rice with veggies on the side, it is so satiating that it makes you eat slower and improves your chances of eating the right amount (the cornerstones of fat loss or accelerated metabolism, good digestion and health itself).

Isn’t it amazing? So, from now onwards enjoy eating rice without any guilt guys. 🙂

Welcome to my Healthy Life

About Me!

I'm a Clinical Nutritionist with more than six years of experience in diet planning and counselling for patients with nutritional and medical problems. I have a degree in Foods & Nutrition with major in Dietetics. I believe that food has an impact on our lives in so many ways, ranging from a cellular nourishment level all the way to emotional, physical and social wellbeing. My aim is to teach you how to live your healthiest life, give you ways to enjoy simple and delicious food, provide you tools you need to feel and look your best. I believe you deserve to and can feel your best everyday. So, join me in this goal and start living a healthy life! Xx